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yeah, I don't owe you anything, but... I'll keep an eye on you if you get stuck in a rip.

The most important thing you can do in that situation is stay calm. Make your strokes long, slow and powerful. Don't flutter. If you are in a rip, don't go crazy trying to muscle out of it, go with the flow until you are in a position that you can swim out of it, usually parallel to the shore. Most drownings are the result of freak-outs and over exhaustion. You just have to position yourself to get picked up by some whitewater and hope nothing grey decides you look like food.

Surf more to help your concerns. Some will criticize this because they are babies and the victims of the pussification of surfing... but... surf without a leash, it will get you more comfortable swimming after your board and will teach you how to avoid "yard sale" wipe outs.

I think your buddy is right though - you should be able to swim without your board. Depending on your board (and ultimately your leash) to keep you from not drowning in the ocean is a recipe for disaster.

open ocean swimming is the best remedy for your fears.i still have fears in the ocean,but i came a long way over the years.you should practice bodysurfing,swim into the wave,keep your head low,angle your arm in it like a rail,itll push you in,and when u get near the shorebreak,its going to suck you underwater and youll be powerless for the next 5 seconds.i always look at it like this,water comes in and water goes out.im not the greatest swimmer,but i know a little bit to keep me safe.if your ever in serious trouble,go swim to the closest guy near u,hopefully hes not an a-hole,but hold on to his board til u regain your bearings.groundswells can break far out and create midsized rips.rips are only dangerous to inexperienced swimmers.dont take lectures from dikheads that probly suck at surfing.the ocean is a dangerous place,many people have died,world class surfers that train year round.even tho they drown surfing 40ft waves like sion milosky,todd chesser,donnie soloman,mark foo,malik joyeux,and the list goes on.use the buddy system

I broke two leashes over the weekend - one right after another. The first was an XM with a Powerclip feature that snapped. The second leash (also XM - no powerclip) had a loose HEX screw that needed to be adjusted once I got back to shore. Though I'm a strong swimmer and was never really worried, I was still glad a friend kept an eye out for me as I headed back in.

I think your buddy is right though - you should be able to swim without your board. Depending on your board (and ultimately your leash) to keep you from not drowning in the ocean is a recipe for disaster.

Good call though on asking for help, no shame in that.

when i started surfing,i think it was either 08 or 09,when we had hurricane ike,hanna,and a few others.well anyway i started surfing on a 8ft hawaiin gun without a leash.i remember il paddle into a wave outside the jetty,miss it and fall as my board comes in and i go out.iv always been more scared of having a board strapped to me,a big bouyant object,than swimming alone.usually if i think its too big for me,or its breaking 3ft barrels in a foot of water,i usually go bodysurf.aslong as i ride a few waves,whether a board,sponge,or bodysurfing,then i get my rush i desired for the day.and in the winter time,it sucks duckdiving with 7mil of rubber on u..does anyone have trouble exhaling through your nose in the wintertime with the cold water or is it just me.i cant blow out my nose in 40degree water

I had a broken leash experience for the first time ever last Wednesday. The ride was fine....no wipe-out....so you can imagine my shock when I surfaced expecting my board to be beside me and instead I saw it about 15 feet away. Just as I realized that I was no longer attached, a wave came and push my board in. I swam in while a head high set crash down on and around me. Each time I got within a few feet of my board, another wave pushed it out of reach. It was sketchy....but really just more an irritation.

Then Thursday, I saw the same thing happen to another surfer, but this break was much further out....and though there were other surfers around him paddling back out, no one checked to see if he was okay. I didn't think it wise to wait until he was in serious trouble to respond, so I gave up my hard earn position and paddled for him. Half way to him, I could see him was starting to stand, so I turned and battled my way back out, again. It concerns me that the more capable stronger men did nothing.....and it took a kook-ger like myself to care.

Your buddy is right.....but there is a time and place for everything. "No problem brother, I got you" is the right thing in that time and place. The beach or parking lot is where the wisdom should have been given.

And now for some newly found wisdom......from now on I will check my leash for issues before I paddle out.

I had a broken leash experience for the first time ever last Wednesday. The ride was fine....no wipe-out....so you can imagine my shock when I surfaced expecting my board to be beside me and instead I saw it about 15 feet away. Just as I realized that I was no longer attached, a wave came and push my board in. I swam in while a head high set crash down on and around me. Each time I got within a few feet of my board, another wave pushed it out of reach. It was sketchy....but really just more an irritation.

Then Thursday, I saw the same thing happen to another surfer, but this break was much further out....and though there were other surfers around him paddling back out, no one checked to see if he was okay. I didn't think it wise to wait until he was in serious trouble to respond, so I gave up my hard earn position and paddled for him. Half way to him, I could see him was starting to stand, so I turned and battled my way back out, again. It concerns me that the more capable stronger men did nothing.....and it took a kook-ger like myself to care.

Your buddy is right.....but there is a time and place for everything. "No problem brother, I got you" is the right thing in that time and place. The beach or parking lot is where the wisdom should have been given.

And now for some newly found wisdom......from now on I will check my leash for issues before I paddle out.

I agree, time and place for everything. Help a brother out if you see someone struggling is the right call IMO. He's right that you shouldn't be out if you are scared, but there is only one way to break those fears, and that's to face them. I have a buddy who wasn't going to go out last weekend unless he had me or another buddy with him, he's a decent surfer, but he said he's a got a wife and two kids now so he doesn't want to take any chances. It's smart to have at least one person in the water who knows you and will be keeping an eye out, never a bad idea.

A leash 2' longer than my longboard.... so a 12' for me. I also have a real strong one because of the weight of the board. On short boards I like about 1' longer and a comp is great. I got stabbed good on an 80's pointy board using a 6' on a 6'4" board and have a healthy respect for sharp objects now.

And a little fear is a good thing... You can't fix stupid... So asking for a spotter is smart when you lose your flotation device

...I didn't think it wise to wait until he was in serious trouble to respond, so I gave up my hard earn position and paddled for him. Half way to him, I could see him was starting to stand, so I turned and battled my way back out, again. It concerns me that the more capable stronger men did nothing.....and it took a kook-ger like myself to care...

Maybe I shouldn't but I usually assume anyone out surfing can tread water and make some attempt at proper swimming. Otherwise you are really tempting Darwin to prove his theories. If you're hurt yell/ask for help. If not, I'll keep an eye on you if you don't seem too seaworthy but I'm not paddling over to ask if you're ok like I would for a little old lady that just fell down in the street.

Tread water, side stroke or back stroke to the beach. If in a rip current, go parallel to the beach. When out of the rip swim to the beach. Unless you're injured you should have no problem treading/swimming for 15 min until you reach shallow water. If you can't do at least that, surfing is not your thing, yet.

Maybe I shouldn't but I usually assume anyone out surfing can tread water and make some attempt at proper swimming. Otherwise you are really tempting Darwin to prove his theories. If you're hurt yell/ask for help. If not, I'll keep an eye on you if you don't seem too seaworthy but I'm not paddling over to ask if you're ok like I would for a little old lady that just fell down in the street.

Tread water, side stroke or back stroke to the beach. If in a rip current, go parallel to the beach. When out of the rip swim to the beach. Unless you're injured you should have no problem treading/swimming for 15 min until you reach shallow water. If you can't do at least that, surfing is not your thing, yet.

I guess I should also mention, the guy lost his board about a 1/4 mile out from the beach....that was really the thing that concerned me for him.

I agree on the Darwin thing and the 15 minutes of treading.....but the one time I was in serious trouble (last August) I couldn't scream or ask for help. I had just gone over the falls, backwards and upside down. The impact was so hard it knocked all the wind out of me, then I was held down for what seemed like forever (maybe 30 to 60 seconds, with no air in my lungs). When I resurfaced another wave drilled me down before I could get my board. There was no way I could have asked for help, no one even looked in my direction or said anything, it was all I could do to just get my breath back and save myself. It was, by far, the scariest thing that has ever happened to me while surfing.

Of course, I made it out alive.......but my point is, if someone is in serious trouble, screaming help it's normally an option.

I guess it's just the momma part of me. I feel the need to be proactive instead of just reactive, when it come to someone in potential trouble. Dam@ it, I care about you kids